Channel Tunnel operator Getlink used its half-year results call on 23 July to warn that the biometric phase of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) for car passengers may miss its planned 6 September launch because of unresolved software bugs supplied by Brussels. Chief Executive Yann Leriche told reporters that, while physical infrastructure costing €80 million is ready on both sides of the Tunnel, the central IT platform “is not yet fully stable”. Any delay would be a relief to British motorists and coach operators, who fear long tail-backs if every traveller must give fingerprints and a facial scan before boarding Le Shuttle trains. EES has already gone live for air passengers in most Schengen airports, generating sporadic queues. The Tunnel handles a higher proportion of UK leisure traffic—80 per cent of tourists are British—so even a two-minute processing lag per passenger could quickly snarl holiday departures. Getlink said it had factored “limited disruption” into its upgraded €835–870 million earnings forecast, but hinted it could sue the UK government over a separate business-rates dispute if tax talks fail by the end of summer. For cross-Channel business travellers, the message is to monitor implementation dates closely; a last-minute deferral could change ID requirements and recommended check-in times at Folkestone and Calais overnight.
Source: Reuters via Euronext Live
